Volleyball's Sweep of Akron Extends Win Streak to Five

Saturday, October 7

Stroh Center

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

9-8 (5-1MAC)

Akron

6-12 (2-4MAC)

Akron

Bowling Green

October 07, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – With a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) sweep of Akron (6-12, 2-4 MAC) on Saturday evening, the Bowling Green volleyball program (9-8, 5-1 MAC) extended its match win streak to five. After a strong opening set, the Falcons battled through a slow start to the third to earn its third sweep of the season and remain at the top of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Box Score

Falcon Stat Facts

Bowling Green leads the Mid-American Conference outright with a 5-1 record, with Miami trailing in the East Division at 4-2. Western Michigan and Ball State top the West at records of 4-1.
Sophomore Celena Kanagin led the Bowling Green squad with 10 kills on the night, while hitting .350. It is the Spring Grove, Ill. native's ninth time this season earning double-digit kills, while her percentage of .350 is her third best of the year.
Also a strong offensive presence, senior Nicole Slimko earned nine kills paired with a team-best percentage of .364.
Defensively, junior libero Kallie Seimet continued to lead the Falcons as she tallied 21 digs, making it her 13th 20+ dig match of the season. Seimet leads the nation as she averages 6.73 digs per set.
At the net, freshman Katie Kidwell marked a team-high of five blocks on the night, helping the Falcons to a total of 9.0 over the course of the three sets. Kidwell now averages 1.11 blocks per set and has topped the Bowling Green squad with her blocking game in four of the last five matches.
Sophomore Paulina Iacobelli notched double-digit digs on the night when she earned 15 for 5.0 per set. A native of Novi, Mich., Iacobelli also earned one of the Falcons three aces on the night.
A well-rounded performance, four different Falcons earned eight digs or more on the night, while six players had a hand in at least one of the team's 9.0 total blocks. It was also the team's eighth time this season hitting over .200.
Over the course of the three sets, Bowling Green held the advantage in kills (39-35), team attack percentage (.202-.102), assists (36-34), service aces (3-1), and total team blocks (9.0-7.0).
The pair of conference foes fought through a total of six tie scores and three lead changes.

Play-by-Play

It was a fast-paced opening set in which the Falcons went on a four-point run to gain an early 7-2 lead that pushed Akron to call its first timeout. After Kanagin's second of 10 kills in the match, the Zips were forced to call its second timeout as Bowling Green was lifted to a 12-5 lead, that ultimately resulted in a dominate 25-16 score.
The second set slowed down the match, as the team's battled through a back-and-forth scoring pattern. After Akron claimed the opening point, the Falcons gained a lead that they did not relent the remainder of the set. Although it was narrow, Bowling Green battled to leads of 18-15 lead, and 22-20 before sealing the set win at 25-23.
As the teams returned from intermission, Akron came out strong and climbed to a 6-2 lead that resulted in a Bowling Green timeout. After the timeout, a performance of three blocks by Slimko and Kidwell lifted the Falcons to an 8-0 run to regain the lead, while the momentum carried the Bowling Green to a 12-2 scoring run midway through the third set. Ultimately, Bowling Green's third set comeback of 25-19 earned them the 3-0 sweep of the Zips to go on a five-match win streak.

Postmatch Interviews

Coach Tomic

Celena Kanagin

Up Next

The Bowling Green volleyball program will remain at home for the upcoming week as they welcome Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 13 and Central Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 14 for more Mid-American Conference play.
Friday's match against the Eagles will be Think Pink Night at the Stroh Center, so come decked out in pink for breast cancer awareness month.

Follow the Falcons

For more information on the volleyball program, follow the Falcons on Facebook (Bowling Green State University Volleyball), Twitter (@BGSUVolleyball and @BGAthletics) and Instagram (bgsuvolleyball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.